"LORD - do something...please!

Here's something for you to think about.

How many times have you prayed about an issue - either something you are going through, or maybe a friend - and you pray as if it's the first He knows of the situation?

The thing that the Lord revealed to me the other day was this - it is HIM prompting us to pray about the situation in the first place.
  

With God we don't have to be afraid of what lies ahead



He already knows about it, even more than you do.

He's the one getting the ball rolling by causing us to be aware of the issue in the first place.

He opens our eyes to it, whether it's something in our life that needs dealing with, or it could be a need a friend has, or a social justice issue.

Perhaps when we pray we need to be saying, "Thankyou Lord, for making me aware of this problem/issue, and please heal/deal with it/cause it to work out" instead of "LORD don't You see me/her/them suffering here? Why don't You do something about it??"

Well...He already has.

Thanks for calling in,

a bientot...X Rebecca

Your Yesterday Doesn't Have to Determine Your Today

Morning all.
I just wanted to share something with you that the Lord revealed to me during my quiet time this morning.

Philippians 3:12-14

"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."

"Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead..."

Doesn't that sound great? Freeing? Exciting?

It does to me.

Do you realise what Paul is saying here?

Because of Christ within us we can live free of the past and be hopeful of what lies ahead of us in the future.

The past no longer has a hold on you, child of God. 

When I read this verse this morning I realised that so many of my thoughts and attitudes are based around events that happened in the past. My experiences - my past experiences - or, more accurately my perception of those past experiences have been shaping the way I live. That's not wrong or abnormal, in fact everybody does it, it's just that the negative memories hold me back, causing me to be ineffective and defeated. 

But do you see that those mindsets are just an illusion?

We are not ineffective! We are not defeated!

Romans 8:37 tells us that overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, and in 2 Peter 1:3 we are told that God has already given us everything we need for living a godly life.

You + God = VICTORY!

I know it's not just a matter of blocking out the past and being unwise - it's about deciding that the past doesn't have to determine your future.

Your yesterday doesn't have to determine your today.

When we allow the experiences of the past to affect us today we are taken hostage by DREAD.

Dread is a debilitating emotion based on fear and worry, and the reason why we dread (well, why I dread) is because we are calling on past experience.

We dread the dentist because of past experience.

We dread having awkward conversations with difficult people because of past conflict.

When I was pregnant with our second and third daughters I was over the moon except for the fact that I knew what I had to go through when it was time to give birth! I didn't have that dread with our first daughter's birth because I had no prior experience to call on.

Your future is so bright, don't tarnish it by prematurely deciding that there is no hope. 

Forget what negative lessons your past has taught you.

This is a fresh new day and God has great things planned for you!

Please come again soon.

A bientot,

XRebecca

As You Walk Along

Psalm 40:1-3

"I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, 

and He turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair,

out of the mud and the mire.

He set my feet on solid ground and

steadied me as I walked along.

He has given me a new song to sing,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see what He has done and be amazed.

They will put their trust in the Lord." 

Here the Psalmist King David talks about waiting patiently and expectantly for the Lord to help: "He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire."

Have you been languishing in a pit of despair, feeling stuck in a pit of quicksand that is threatening to swallow you up?

Take heart my friend.

God will pull you out.

He will pull you out and place you on solid ground - He is safe, reliable and constant, our strength and hope.

Then David says, "...(God) steadied me as I walked along..." (verse 2b)

It is in the WALKING that we find strength and steadiness. As we walk - as we step out, one foot after the other - He will fill us with His strength.

But only as we step out in faith.

Hiding away from life doesn't help - it only causes you to sink deeper.

How do you know what the Lord will do if you just hide yourself away?

How do you know what can be achieved unless you get up and start "walking"?

Step by step.

One foot after the other.

Moment by moment He will lead you.

A bientot mes amis...

XRebecca

Dear Father,
This new day is a gift.
I accept this gift from You.
As I open this gift, I choose to remember that it was given to me by Someone who loves me.
The One who chose this gift did so because He knows me well.

As I open this beautifully packaged gift, I see what is carefully placed inside.
A fresh, new day.
Full of possibility and hope.
Untainted by harsh words, as yet unblemished from problems and sadness.

Because of the purity of this day, because of its pure and peaceful beauty, I am tempted to set it aside and not make use of it.
If I use it, it might get ruined by my human nature...my failings...my sinfulness.

However, as with any gift, there are three things I could do with this present you have given me:

• Hide it away in a cupboard, stuffing it out of sight and forgetting all about it - it's beauty and it's possibilities,
• Set it aside, looking at it and thinking, "One of these days I'm going to use it", or
• Understand and embrace it's beauty and function, choosing to use it and enjoy it.

Father, as the Giver of this gift of today, the third option is the one that would give You the most pleasure.
You have given me today, You chose today for me because You know me and You know what's best for me.
(An excerpt from my book of quiet time jounalling - dated Sunday, January 23rd 2011)

 There's a quote that goes along these lines,

"Yesterday is gone,

Tomorrow is yet to come,

Today is a gift, that's why it's called the 'present'"

That's true isn't it?

Yesterday is gone...forever.

The things you said or didn't say, did or didn't do yesterday are gone.

All that remains of yesterday are the consequences of our reactions - whether positive or hurtful.

You can't change what you did or said, you can't take back words once they've left your mouth.

Are you resting on your laurels from yesterday - or yesteryear?

Is it time to move on and create new memories, new relationships, a new definition of YOU?

And what about tomorrow?

Tomorrow doesn't exist...yet.

It's not here, it never has been, yet we put so much hope in it.

"I'll do it tomorrow."

"I'll ring and apologise tomorrow."

"I'll give up drinking tomorrow."

"I'll apply for that course tomorrow."

We may as well replace tomorrow with someday, because sometimes that can be what we're really saying.

All we have is today.

This day.

And to take it one step further, all we really have is this moment.

In reality, this single, split-second moment is all we have to work with.

You have the choice, I have the choice, whether we use this moment, this hour, this day, this life - or if we choose to sit by and allow opportunities to slip through our fingers.

I know that life can be hard.

I know that sometimes it just seems too much.

But you can do it.

You deserve a great life, doing the things you've always dreamed of.

You deserve to live.

A bientot,

XRebecca